From Arguments to Dancing
by Equestrienne Dreams
Summary: Harry Potter has just defeated Lord Voldemort, Albus admits a girl to Hogwarts who happens to be a werewolf, and Minerva McGonagall is Not Happy. So just how do the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress go from screaming to dancing? ADMM fluff.


"HOW DARE YOU KEEP SUCH A THING FROM ME! I AM SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR _DEPUTY_, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!"

"Minerva, you don't understand…"

"OH I BLOODY WELL DO UNDERSTAND, ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE!!!! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU KEPT THIS FROM ME, _ME,_ THE WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN YOUR DEPUTY FROM THE DAY YOU SET FOOT IN THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE! YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULD ALWAYS APPRISE ME OF _ANY _DECISION YOU MADE REGARDING THIS SCHOOL AND ITS STUDENTS!!! AND NOW YOU DON'T TELL ME BECAUSE YOU WANT TO KEEP ME _SAFE????_"

"Now listen here, Minerva. You know full well that I trust you fully and completely, but I had no desire to put you in danger! Only I and Madam Pomfrey needed to know…"

Albus Dumbledore was cut off mid-sentence by the outraged screeches of his Deputy Headmistress. With a sigh, he listened to her rants with one ear while mentally reviewing the menu for the upcoming Halloween dinner. It was only when he realized that Professor McGonagall's shrieks had descended into an impressive vocabulary of curses - in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and her native Gaelic - that he raised his own voice.

"MINERVA CAITRIONA ATHENA RENEE MCGONAGALL!!!!!!!!!!!"

She abruptly shut up, her mouth snapping closed.

"That's better. Now, in case you happen to have forgotten, I have loved you – and been involved with you – since you were a sixth-year Gryffindor Prefect. Or am I just making up the after-dinner snogging in my office? We have been through two wars, seen the defeats of Grindelwald and Voldemort, and run this school, _together_, for more than fifty years. I have loved you more than life itself for half a century and more, and I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOU HURT. But not only that - this was for not only YOUR protection, but the girl's. The Ministry's attitude towards werewolves had not changed until approximately three days ago with Arthur Weasley's appointment as Minister, and as such, a good portion of the Wizarding World bears strong prejudices against them. The fewer people who knew, the better."

Professor McGonagall, however, was not to be placated.

"OH? SO BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED FOR SIXTY-ODD YEARS, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN CONCEAL SOMETHING FROM ME UNDER THE GUISE OF KEEPING ME SAFE??? THAT IS UTTER BOLLOCKS AND YOU KNOW IT, DUMBLEDORE!!!! IT'S BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN THROUGH SO DAMNED MUCH THAT YOU SHOULD CONFIDE IN ME!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST TOLD ME AS THE WOMAN YOU LOVE EVEN IF NOT AS DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS!!!!"

Albus Dumbledore was growing very tired of this. So, he utilized the simple way to shut her up. He strode across the room, took her firmly by the arms, and, while she was still mid-shout, kissed her passionately. He felt her resist for barely a moment before she let out a moan and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him back. After several minutes of this, he tore his lips away from hers with a gasp and said, "My dear, I believe that there is a certain ball tonight celebrating the defeat of a certain Dark wizard. Care to join me?"

Minerva McGonagall was breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed and her green eyes sparkling, but she nodded all the same… and then a little tabby cat was running out the door.

Albus Dumbledore merely chuckled. "See you soon, my dear," he called softly.

He could have sworn he heard a faint meow in return.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, a knock resounded on Dumbledore's door. He opened it and promptly stopped breathing. 

Minerva McGonagall stood in the doorway, smiling shyly. Crimson robes clung to her upper body before blossoming out at the waist. These robes were edged in gold, and she was wearing golden pumps on her feet. Her eyes sparkled with humor and her eyelids were misted with shimmering golden dust.

It was her hair, however, that had stopped the man's heart. It cascaded down her back in raven ribbons, shiny and soft and curly to the extreme. No one – and I do mean no one – had seen Minerva McGonagall's hair down since the day she graduated from Hogwarts. Her hair had been perpetually confined in the sight of others – even the man she loved – for the past fifty years, only being let out when the woman who bound it had a rare evening alone.

Dumbledore eventually recovered enough to offer her his arm, and they made their way to the Great Hall. Minerva McGonagall scanned the dance floor, smiling at what she saw. Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood danced near the edge, holding each other close. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger danced nearby, never once breaking eye contact. Dean Thomas danced with Parvati Patil, and Seamus Finnigan sat on a bench with Lavender Brown tucked into the circle of his arm. Former Gryffindors, too, speckled the dance floor… she could see Oliver Wood with Katie Bell, and the Weasley twins, one with Angelina Johnson and the other with Alicia Spinnet. Lee Jordan danced with Louisa Sheldon, a former Ravenclaw and his fiancée.

It was, however, the couple at the center of the dance floor that caught her eye. Harry Potter stood with Ginny Weasley wound in his arms, his lips pressed to her forehead. They were no longer even pretending to dance, just swaying back and forth to the music. Harry held Ginny tightly, almost as if he were afraid that were he to let go, he would lose her forever. At that moment he stepped back just a little, looking straight into Ginny's eyes before pressing his lips to hers and kissing her passionately.

And then she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and a voice in her ear saying, "I was hoping a young lady with pretty green eyes would honor me with a dance this evening." She looked up at the man she loved more than life itself and said, "I would be honored."

They moved to the center of the dance floor and he swirled her about in a waltz. They both knew this dance so well by now that they could have done it in their sleep. They matched each other step for step and beat for beat, so lost in each other that they barely noticed the dance floor clearing to make way for the best dancers Hogwarts had ever seen. He lifted his hand and twirled her once, twice, three times, before bringing her back to his arms. They moved closer and closer, so that by the end of the dance they were flush up against each other.

Then the last flourish of the music began, and Minerva stepped away from him before spinning in so that her back was to his chest. He grinned slightly; they knew this move by heart and had been practicing it for decades. He spun her out and let go, and she kept on spinning – once, then twice, before grabbing his hand and spinning back in. Instead of returning to their former position, however, he caught her when she was facing him and dipped her back, so that her hair trailed on the floor and her head was barely an inch from the ground. The song played a final chord and they stayed, paused, almost frozen in the moment. He was beaming, no longer able to hide it, and she was flushed, her eyes sparkling, with a smile threatening to burst upon her face at any minute.

The Hall remained in stunned silence for a minute, and then burst into applause. Albus brought her upright, but it seemed he had decided that with Voldemort gone, they could drop their masks and reveal their relationship to the world. And so, as he brought her up, he gently kissed her. Her arms wound themselves about his neck and they deepened the kiss until she decided they had shocked the students quite enough. Then, with a mysterious smile, he offered his arm to Minerva McGonagall and they exited the Great Hall, leaving a crowd of stunned students and faculty alike behind them.

* * *

AN: Another fluffy little oneshot that decided it wanted to be written. Credit for the line, "I was hoping a young lady with pretty green eyes would honor me with a dance this evening," goes to HogwartsDuo from their story One Dance at a Time. Check it out. It rocks amazingly. 


End file.
